East Lansing police Capt. Jeff Murphy said it's rare for his department to catch perpetrators behind infamous couch fires and the like. But now that they have, East Lansing police will make an example of the four, Murphy said.

"We're going to seek as much of a charge as we legally can," he said. "Our city attorney will ultimately decide what the charges are, but we'll advocate for the toughest ones we can."

Within moments of Michigan State's loss to Duke in the tourney, East Lansing police and firefighters began responding to couches burning in the middle of roadways, Dumpsters set ablaze and other burning items.

Authorities dealt with a total of 12 such fires between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. Saturday morning, Murphy said. Two similar fires were set late Saturday evening.

It's become something of a tradition in East Lansing. Spartan basketball losses and couch fires have coincided since at least 1999, when students and residents in East Lansing rioted following an MSU loss in the Final Four.

Similar incidents much smaller in scale have occurred since, in tandem with MSU wins and losses. Some say the "tradition" predates the turn of the millenium.

"This is, for some reason, kind of a tradition, although a negative one," Murphy said. "When there's a big event, mostly basketball, a lot of people want to go out and light fires.

"This is a tradition that does nobody any good. It makes the city, the university and the students all look bad, and it's probably done by a very small minority of the people. We have a great interest in charging (the four suspects) to the fullest extent of the law."

None of the four suspects had been arrested and none have been formally charged as of Monday. They could face charges up to felony arson, Murphy said.

"More likely, it'll be a city-ordinance-type disorderly conduct, a 90-day misdemeanor and up to $500 fine," he said.

In East Lansing, a municipal ordinance makes it a 90-day misdemenaor to remain within 300 feet of a fire. Murphy said police exercise discretion in enforcing it, allowing people to pass through affected areas and other things.

"The intent of the law is to prevent gatherings, the kind that interfere or heckle firefighters and police," he said.

"This is something that on the surface people look at as just burning an old piece of junk," he said. "But it causes a lot of damage: in reputation; the city, police and fire have to staff to keep these things under control.

"We know from experience if there's a fire that's not dealt with quickly on a busy night it leads to a lot of other problems and usually is the catalyst for a big crowd."

East Lansing police staffed added officers Friday night and Saturday morning, as they do each time Michigan State basketball plays in the NCAA tournament, according to Murphy.